"Obviously, she is feeling very sad, because of Cedric dying. Then I expect she's feeling confused because she liked Cedric and now she likes Harry, and she can't work out who she likes best. Then she'll be feeling guilty, thinking it's an insult to Cedric's memory to be kissing Harry at all... And she probably can't work out what her feelings are towards Harry anyway, because he was the one who was with Cedric when Cedric died, so that's all very mixed up and painful."

In her sixth year, she joined Dumbledore's Army against her parents' wishes and began dating Harry Potter. However, Cho's best friend Marietta Edgecombe betrayed the D.A., and Cho and Harry's relationship fell apart. Cho remained loyal to her school and to the D.A., returning after she had graduated to participate in the Battle of Hogwarts. She survived the war and eventually married a Muggle.

Fourth year

During a Gryffindor-RavenclawQuidditch match in her fourth year, Cho first met Harry Potter, who was a year below her at Hogwarts and a fellow Seeker. Harry noticed she was very pretty and she made his stomach "feel funny". Cho's impression of
Harry was favourable, and when she later wished Harry good luck before Gryffindor had a Quidditch match against Slytherin, Harry went bright red. During the match against Ravenclaw, Cho began to tail Harry rather than find the Golden Snitch herself. Harry soon caught on to her strategy and attempted to trick her into thinking he had spotted the Snitch. As he dove, he saw the Snitch for real. Cho then gasped at the sight of a trio of Dementors. Harry managed to unleash a powerful Patronus Charm as well as snag the Snitch; the Dementors were actually Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle and Marcus Flint in disguise. Ravenclaw did not win the Quidditch Cup this year and instead Gryffindor did.[2]

Fifth year

Cho Chang in her fifth year

Harry: "I was just wondering if maybe you wanted to go to the ball with me..."

In the summer of 1994, Cho went to the Quidditch World Cup, and exchanged greetings with Harry, who had a crush on Cho by this time. She was friendly towards Harry, but probably did not return his romantic feelings, as she accepted when Cedric Diggory asked her to be his date to the Yule Ball. Cedric was a year above Cho and a champion in the Triwizard Tournament. Despite this, Cho refused to treat Harry poorly, as many others did because the Goblet of Fire had also selected him.

She refused to wear one of Draco Malfoy's Support Cedric Diggory badges, something Harry was grateful for. He asked Cho to attend the Yule Ball with him, and she let him down kindly; he still spent most of the ball watching Cho, who soon began dating Cedric. She was the "thing" Cedric would miss most and thus became his hostage during the Second Task of the Tournament; he employed the Bubble-Head Charm to save her from Hogwarts' lake.[3]

That June, Cedric was murdered by Peter Pettigrew on Lord Voldemort's orders. Cho was devastated and spent a lot of her time crying in the bathroom. She attended the memorial service at the end of the school year to pay her respects to her late boyfriend.

Sixth year

Cho Chang in her sixth year

Cedric's death made Cho believe Harry's claim that Voldemort had returned despite the Ministry of Magic and Daily Prophet branding him a liar or a nutter. She sought Harry out several times and attempted to engage him in conversation, probably motivated by both a desire to learn the circumstances of Cedric's death and a growing fondness for Harry. Unfortunately for Harry, these encounters did not go well. The first time, Cho found him covered with Stinksap that was accidentally let off by Neville Longbottom's Mimbulus Mimbletonia. The second time, she ended up arguing with Ron Weasley about Quidditch teams. On the third try, when Cho entered the Owlery to send a letter to her mother for her birthday while Harry was there, she defended him from a suspicious Argus Filch.

Cho training with the D.A.

When invited by Hermione Granger to join Dumbledore's Army, Cho went against the advice of her parents, who wished her to remain on Dolores Umbridge's good side. She also brought her best friend and fellow Ravenclaw Marietta Edgecombe along, despite the other girl's reluctance. Cho joined because she was determined to fight against Lord Voldemort after what happened to Cedric in the previous year. As a D.A. student, however, she had her ups and downs. At first, she got nervous and performed her spells poorly whenever Harry was nearby, indicating that her romantic feelings for him had grown. Later, though, she was able to conjure a corporeal Patronus in the shape of a swan. However, she did have some trouble with a Disarming Charm, saying Expellimellius, instead of Expelliarmus, causing a friend's sleeve to catch on fire.

The kiss between Cho and Harry.

Cho initiated a kiss with Harry under some mistletoe shortly before Christmas after a D.A. session. However, she soon ended up in tears, confused and guilty because of her feelings for Harry and Cedric. Despite this, she and Harry went on a date in the wizarding village of Hogsmeade on Valentine's Day.

Cho Chang

Harry: "Look, let's not talk about Cedric right now...let's talk about something else."

Cho: "I thought, I thought you'd u-u-understand! I need to talk about it! Surely you n-need to talk about it too! I mean, you saw it happen, d-didn't you?"

Cho's continuing grief over Cedric's death, her ill-founded jealousy over Harry's friendship with Hermione (who, ironically, tried to advise Harry on how to handle girls), and Harry's overall inexperience with girls soured the experience. Cho became jealous when Harry mentioned his plans to meet Hermione later in the day, and she tried to gauge Harry's feelings for her by mentioning that Roger Davies had asked her out, but this only bewildered Harry. She ended up in tears after Harry refused to discuss Cedric's death with her.

Later in the year, Cho's friend Marietta betrayed the D.A. to Umbridge, and, as a result, was afflicted by the jinx performed by Hermione on the piece of parchment, signed earlier by all members of the D.A. The hex made purple pustules spell "SNEAK" across her face that could not be removed, something Cho considered a "horrible trick". When Harry scorned Marietta for the betrayal and Cho defended her, their relationship went downhill.[4]

Seventh year

Ron Weasley: "Michael - but - But you were going out with him!"

Ginny Weasley: "Not anymore. He didn't like Gryffindor beating Ravenclaw at Quidditch and got really sulky, so I ditched him and he ran off to comfort Cho instead."

At the beginning of her seventh and final at Hogwarts, Cho caught a glimpse of Harry on the Hogwarts Express. She did not speak

Cho in 1997.

with him, instead hiding back in her compartment with Marietta Edgecombe. The two had almost no interaction for the rest of the year; according to Harry, they simply "fell apart", too embarrassed to even look at one another.[5] That year, Harry began dating Ginny Weasley while Cho dated Michael Corner[4], who ironically had previously dated Ginny, and who offered Cho comfort over the trying events of her fifth and sixth years.

Neville, Flitwick and Cho after the death of Dumbledore.

After Hogwarts

Battle of Hogwarts

Cho: "If you'd like to see what the diadem's supposed to look like, I could take you up to our common room and show you, Harry. Ravenclaw's wearing it in her statue."

Later life

Physical appearance

Cho is described as a very attractive girl of Chinese descent, with long, shining dark hair and eyes and freckles on her nose. During her years at Hogwarts, she attracted Cedric Diggory, Roger Davies, Michael Corner and Harry Potter.

Personality and traits

Cho in her fifth year.

Ron: "You're well out of it, mate. I mean, she's quite good-looking and all that, but you want someone a bit more cheerful."

Having been sorted into Ravenclaw House, Cho was presumably very intelligent. She was also an avid Quidditch fan and a good athlete, playing Seeker for her House's team. She was a popular student at Hogwarts, with a large group of friends and many boys who admired her.

Cho was perceived by Harry Potter and others to be excessively melodramatic and angsty. Though a certain amount of distress could be expectable after the murder of her boyfriend, she basically spent the rest of the year wallowing in sadness. She was also somewhat prone to jealousy, as is evidenced in her attitude towards Hermione Granger.

Cho appears to have been a poor judge of character when it came to choosing her friends. She overlooked Marietta Edgecombe's treacherous actions and maintained that she was "a lovely person", despite the fact that she had sold all of her classmates out to the Ministry of Magic – including her. However, Cho later demonstrated herself to be a very loyal person by returning to Hogwarts to support Harry, Dumbledore's Army and help defend the castle from Lord Voldemort.

Magical abilities and skills

Charms: Whilst the extent of Cho's ability at Charms is unknown she did learn how to successfully conjure a corporeal Patronus in her sixth year, in the form of a swan.

Defence Against the Dark Arts: Considering she trained with the DA, Cho should have an aptitude in Defense against the dark arts, her skills furthered by the fact she fought in and survived the Second Wizarding War.

Relationships

Family

Her relationship with her parents is unknown, but it is known that both her mother and father wanted her to stay on Dolores Umbridge's good side, during the 1995–1996 school year. However, Cho went against their wishes. Their relationship after the school year is unknown.

Roger Davies

Cedric Diggory

In her fifth year, Cho was asked to the Yule Ball by Cedric Diggory, a Hufflepuff student a year above her. The two subsequently began dating. Because Cho was the person Cedric would miss most, she served as his hostage during the Second Task of the Triwizard Tournament.[3] Cho and Cedric also had a date at Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop. Cho was devastated when Cedric was murdered that June. The following year was very difficult for her; in addition to missing Cedric, she was the subject of gossip regarding her burgeoning romance with Harry Potter, the only witness to Cedric's murder who was widely regarded as being either a liar or a nutter for claiming that Lord Voldemort had returned. Cho grieved for Cedric to the point of crying in the bathroom frequently, and her Quidditch-playing abilities also suffered.[4] This was probably compounded by a lack of closure, as the only person who knew what had happened to Cedric, Harry, did not want to discuss it with Cho.

Harry Potter was drawn to Cho's good looks and developed a crush on her when she was in her fourth year[2], and asked her to the Yule Ball in the next, though she had already agreed to attend with Cedric. Still, Cho treated Harry kindly, such as in refusing to wear a Potter Stinks or even a Support Cedric Diggory! badge during the Triwizard Tournament.[3]

In her sixth year, Cho began to return Harry's feelings, though she felt somewhat guilty for doing so, considering the recent murder of Cedric Diggory. She joined Dumbledore's Army and became nervous whenever Harry was nearby. They shared a kiss under the mistletoe around Christmas, but this was spoiled by Cho beginning to cry, and Harry being at a loss for how to respond.

Cho supports Harry during a Quidditch match.

The two went on a date in Hogsmeade on Valentine's Day, but Cho's feelings for Harry were confused because of her continuing grief over Cedric's death and Harry's discomfort with discussing it. She also became jealous of Harry's friendship with Hermione Granger, and in a moment of weakness and insecurity, ditched the date. Harry, who was inexperienced with girls, found Cho's behaviour very confusing, especially when she tried to make him jealous and to gauge his feelings for her by mentioning that Roger Davies had asked her out. Thus, their relationship was already strained when Marietta Edgecombe betrayed the D.A. and Cho stood up for her, angering Harry.[4] After that, their relationship simply “fell apart”[5].

When Cho saw Harry on the Hogwarts Express in 1996, she avoided him, and Harry reflected that they were too embarrassed to even look at each other, let alone talk to each other[5]. However, by 1998, any negative feelings on Cho's part seemed to have vanished, as she offered to escort Harry to Ravenclaw Tower just before the Battle of Hogwarts. She was disappointed when Ginny Weasley fiercely suggested that Luna Lovegood escort him instead, suggesting that Cho may still have had some feelings for Harry or simply wanted to resolve any of their lingering issues so that they could be friendly again.[6]

Michael Corner

At the end of her sixth year, after the end of her relationship with Harry, Cho began dating Michael Corner, a Ravenclaw student a year below her. Michael's ex-girlfriend, Ginny Weasley, said that this happened shortly after she chucked Michael when he became sulky over a Ravenclaw-Gryffindor Quidditch match. Michael seems to have offered Cho comfort.[4] They may have continued to date even after Cho graduated from Hogwarts, as she went to sit by his side in the Room of Requirement upon returning to the school for the final battle.[6] However, they must have broken up at some point because according to J. K. Rowling, Cho had eventually gone on to marry a Muggle man.

Marietta Edgecombe

Marietta Edgecombe was Cho's best friend and a fellow Ravenclaw. Marietta joined Dumbledore's Army mainly because Cho wanted her to; she was uncomfortable with opposing Dolores Umbridge because her mother worked at the Ministry of Magic. When Marietta betrayed the D.A. because of this, Cho tried to persuade Harry to forgive Marietta, pointing out that Marietta was afraid for her mother's job, and defended her when Harry badmouthed Marietta. Cho's loyalty and sympathy for Marietta was the death knell in Cho's romance with Harry.[4]

Other friendships

Cho Chang was, until the beginning of her sixth year, very popular. She had an entire group of Ravenclaw friends, who were constantly giggling and gossiping. Marietta Edgecombe was Cho Chang's one constant friend. However, as Cho became something of an emotional wreck all the others fell by the wayside. Being a Quidditch star and very pretty, she was the centre of the group, having a handful of friends accompany her even to the bathroom, and up until her sixth year she was never seen without them. At the welcoming feast in her sixth year Cho chatted animatedly with her friends but later on she is mostly by herself or with Marietta.

Cho didn't like Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger; she believed that Harry had romantic feelings for Hermione, instead of being friends. This was one of the reasons that Cho and Harry fell apart.

However, she fought with Dumbledore's Army during the Battle of Hogwarts, and the most of them survived the war.

Etymology

Cho Chang

Cho is a Chinese and Korean surname. As a Japanese given name it is derived from the word chou, meaning “butterfly”.[8] Chang is a common Chinese family name meaning “free” or “unhindered”. In Chinese, chou chang means “melancholy”.[9] This may allude to Cho's fragile emotional state following Cedric Diggory's murder. Cho may also be an English variant of her given name chou, meaning autumn. In the Mandarin translations of Harry Potter, the name "Cho Chang" is translated into "Zhang Qiu"[张秋] (in Chinese, surnames come before the first name), with "Zhang" being a common Chinese surname and a variant of the name "Chang", and "Qiu" meaning "autumn". If Cho were the surname: Cho/Cao 曹.As the name Cho Chang is considered to be Chinese, the Mandarin translation may give a hint as to what the name may mean.

Also in the film adaption of the Order of the Phoenix, it was mentioned that Cho's mother worked for the Ministry, whereas in the book it was Marietta's mother that worked for the Ministry. This change was due to Marietta's removal from the film.

Cho's known Quidditch record against Gryffindor is 0-3. This includes two straight defeats playing head to head against Ginny Weasley. J. K. Rowling has commented that she planned moments such as Ginny beating Cho to the Golden Snitch and choosing a more creative name for the D.A. to show that Ginny was better-suited for Harry.

Cho Chang is well known for being Harry Potter's first crush, first kiss, and first girlfriend in the Harry Potter series.

Ironically, Ginny's first boyfriend, Michael Corner, and Harry's first girlfriend, Cho, later begin dating and in Harry's sixth year, he and Ginny begin dating.

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Cho appears as one of the many students of Hogwarts suffering under the Death Eater regime run by Snape and the Carrows. When Harry returns, it seems that all hard feelings about her betrayal of Dumbledore's Army have been forgotten when she is one of the many people to embrace him. She is also one of the many who stand up for Harry against Pansy Parkinson's claim that they should grab him after Voldemort's ultimatum and is seen with Neville and Seamus receiving instructions from Professor McGonnagall to blow up the bridge. Finally, she is seen by Harry recovering from the battle in the Great Hall.

Notes and references

↑ 1.01.1While her blood status is never stated, Cho claimed to have been a Quidditch fan since she was six, implying that she is not Muggle-born her mother was known to be an employee of the Ministry of Magic.